The Sprout

Apple Day coming up!

The Newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley

Issue 170 September 2022

The Sprout

The Newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley

Directors: Janet Bartlam, Judi Bolder, John Clements,

Michael Cockman, Ag MacKeith, Robin Palmer

Editor

Ag MacKeith

South View, Old Botley, OX2 0JR Tel: 724452 Editor@TheSprout.org.uk

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Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information printed in this

newsletter, mistakes may happen. The Editor and Team apologize unreservedly for

any errors that may occur and will do their best to correct them. This publication is not

a vehicle of the parish council, and parish councillors working with the Sprout do so in

a personal capacity. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the individual

contributors.

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It can also be found online at BotleyHinksey.org.uk

The Sprout

Issue 170, September 2022

Contents

3 Letters to the Editor

5 Crevice Garden

7 Planning Apps

9 DC Update

11 Saving Energy

13 Mosaic Workshops

15 Calling Musicians

16 Crofts Court

19 Botley–Eynsham Bike Path

21 Peppy Smeaton

23 Meet Chris Church

27 Unpopular Flood Scheme

29 Support for Solar Farm

31 Randoms

34 Big Green Week coming up

35 Local Organizations

From the Editor

Welcome to the September Sprout. What have we for you in this issue?

Two local heroes make an appearance, Peppy Smeaton (p21), much loved

and missed, and Chris Church (p23) still a highly active player on the

local scene. There’s an account of the unusual crevice garden, overall

winner of this year’s Botley in Bloom competition (p5), and of the mosaic

workshops (p13) which gave some local people a chance to be part of the

arts projects adding colour to the new shopping precinct. Sustainable

Botley have garnered funds to help householders cut down on energy

use (p11) and the Community Land Trust have broken ground on Crofts

Court (p16), a development of eight flats at an affordable rent for people

with a local connection on the Vale’s housing list. Congratulations, CLT,

for getting things moving at last. Shame we can’t say the same for the

Eynsham Bike Path, sorely needed, but still seemingly stuck in a

stalemate (p19) at the hands of the County Council. Apple day will be on

2nd October this year (details on page 33) and also on 2nd October, at the

end of the Big Green Week (p34), a march into town will demonstrate that

people are concerned about climate change and the threat to the

environment. The theme of this year’s BGW is Energy, and local events

are in the pipeline.

Ag MacKeith

Letters to the Editor

Women’s football

Given the great impact of the Lionesses’ spectacular success in Euro

2022, I believe that it is really important that The Sprout investigates the

current status of girl’s and women’s football in Botley’s schools and

clubs and outlines what needs to be done, and by whom, to enable

more girls and women to play the game.

Robin Palmer

(More going on than you might think, Robin! Article coming up in next

month’s Sprout. Ed)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prize giving to Botley in Bloom winners, seen here with their certificates.

John and Viccy Fleming’s Crevice Garden

In a front garden in Botley the size

of a small sitting room is an

amazing collection of more than

400 plants set between vertical

rocks. Some of the plants look

like tiny trees, some like moss,

some are whorled, others are little

spikes. This is John and Viccy

Fleming’s year-old crevice garden.

John and Viccy talked me through

how this gorgeous space was

created. Crevice gardens aim to

replicate the limestone strata

found in the high mountains of

Central Europe. They are made by vertically placing slabs of rock and

planting alpines (tiny mountain plants) between the slabs so that they

look natural.

John and Viccy have always loved to garden. Their previous garden

was almost an acre in size and they had opened it for charity under the

National Garden Scheme. So when they downsized by moving to

Botley, they knew that they would need to get used to gardening on a

smaller scale but more intensely. Their front garden was a patch of

grass when they moved in: this would definitely have to change.

First, they visited several other crevice gardens. They then tracked

down the man who had provided the rock for the Pershore crevice

garden at his quarry in the Forest of Dean. The rock is a beautiful pink-

sand colour, and split into slabs about 1-2 inches wide. But how much

to get? John had done a drystone walling course. “People who build

stone walls know about rock quantities,” says John “and a crevice

garden is basically half a dry stone wall laid on its side.” He ordered

five tonnes (FIVE TONNES!) of rock and six tonnes of sharp sand, and

held his breath, hoping that this was about right.

“We had made a scale model out of pasta and sand,” explains John, “so

that we would know where to lay the rock. We dug out the grass and

sculpted the soil underneath into higher and lower parts. We put a

20cm layer of the sharp sand on top of these hills and furrows, and then

set the rocks in the sand. The quantities were just about right.” They

aimed to set up some microclimates: the rocks are set east–west,

leaving a north and a south side. “That way, we can locate plants

appropriately. For instance, plants that don’t like the sun go on the

north side.”

They put a mixture of grit and John Innes No. 2 compost between the

rocks and started planting. “You can’t get the plants for a crevice

garden in a garden centre,” says Viccy. “They’re usually not small

enough. There are about a dozen specialist alpine nurseries in the UK,

and we used those”. Some of their 464 (!!!) different kinds of plants also

came as seeds from the Alpine Garden Society and the Scottish Rock

Garden Club, and were grown in the couple’s greenhouse.

There are about 150–

200 linear metres of

crevice in their garden,

with two or three plants

per metre. John and

Viccy have aimed to

make it look nice quickly,

but also to get plants

that flower at different

times and have a variety

of leaves and structure.

“It’s our first crevice

garden” says John, “so

we’ll need to see how it evolves. Downsizing our garden was hard, but

the attraction of a crevice garden is that you can pack so many plants

into a small space.” It really is a thing of beauty: a miniature world

where every plant seems to have its own character, carefully nurtured

by two very talented gardeners, and well worthy of its First Place in this

year’s Botley in Bloom Front Gardens competition.

Riki Therivel

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LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS

P22/V1495/FUL

Land adjacent to 82 Westminster

Way. Creation of 4-bed house.

21 June 22

TDD: 16 Aug

P22/V1480/FUL

West Way Square Botley

2 large stone sculptures.

27 June

TDD: 22 Aug

P22/V1776/LDP

51 Yarnells Hill. Rear extension to

existing small brick outbuilding with

new entrance.

22 July

Target Dec

Date: 16 Sept

P22/V1869/HH

1 Lime Road. 2-storey side extension

& rear dormer loft.

29 July

TDD: 23 Sept

End of Summer Update

from your District Councillors

North Hinksey Parish council possible name change

The Community Governance Committee will decide about changing the

parish council name from ‘North Hinksey Parish Council’ to ‘Botley and

North Hinksey Community Council’. They meet on 12 Sep 2022 at 7pm

in the council offices at 135 Eastern Ave in Milton Park. You can attend

remotely via Teams. If you do attend in person, you’ll need to bring your

own laptop and headphones to address the committee and fully

experience the debates. To address the committee, you must make

application in writing to democratic.services@southandvale.gov.uk by

5.00 pm on Friday 9 Sep.

Oxfordshire Plan 2050

Announcement by all Oxfordshire councils (Aug 22): “The five Local

Planning authorities in Oxfordshire have been working together on a

joint plan for Oxfordshire to 2050. [We] regret that we were unable to

reach agreement on the approach to planning for future housing needs

within the framework of the Oxfordshire Plan. Local Plans for the City

and Districts will now provide the framework for the long term planning

of Oxfordshire. The Oxfordshire Plan 2050 work programme will end

and we will now transition to a process focused on Local Plans. The

issue of housing need will now be addressed through individual Local

Plans for each of the City and Districts. The Councils will cooperate

with each other and with other key bodies as they prepare their Local

Plans.”

This means that it will be for each local planning authority to determine

our own housing needs. We are still committed to everything contained

in our current Local Plan; the strategic sites will still be brought forward

before the end of the Local Plan period (2031). For the emerging new

Local Plan 2041, we can benefit from including some of the good

policies created for OxPlan50, particularly around the environment,

renewable energy and sustainable housing and transport. Debby is

Vale’s elected member responsible for Local Plans.

Climate Action Funding

We are happy to announce that Vale’s Climate grants support several

local projects:

• Sustainable Botley – £4,900 for Energy-Saving Homes in Bot-

ley to train local people to offer home energy advice and to carry

out DIY measures such as loft insulation.

• Cumnor Conservation Group – £3,444 for a habitat survey of

part of the Hurst Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest which will

help to deliver a management plan and improve public education

of the site.

• Hinksey Trail Regeneration CIC – £2,821 to improve the trail

boardwalk with sustainable materials next to a small lake that is

a popular place for visitors to stop and watch wildlife.

West Way and Mace

Debby and Emily met with Mace over the summer to discuss ongoing

construction and recent issues on the site. We’re pleased to say Mace

will be reviving the West Way Community Liaison Group, a regular

meeting between site management and local leaders to resolve issues

affecting the development and us all. Our next local surgery will be at

the Missing Bean café from 10.30 to 12pm, on Saturday 8th October.

Debby Hallett and Emily Smith

Saving Energy in our Homes

As energy bills rise past affordable levels, many people will have to live

in colder homes, as well as cutting back on other spending. If your

household includes people with vulnerabilities (for instance due to age,

health or low income) there is some financial support available for

energy-saving home improvements. But all of us need to find ways to

stay warm and healthy while reducing the amount of energy we use.

Sustainable Botley has been awarded two grants (from Vale and North

Hinksey Parish Council) to support local households with advice on

saving energy and getting financial help. There will be two main strands

to our work: 1) training up home energy advisers who will visit homes

and help identify low-cost ways of saving energy and accessing funding;

and 2) carrying out whole-house assessments to advise on the

measures such as insulation, double and triple glazing, and heat pumps

which could help future-proof your home.

We are looking for about six Botley residents who are interested in

training as volunteer energy advisers. This will involve taking a short

course provided by National Energy Action. We aim to carry out 50

home visits this autumn and winter – and we think that would mean

being willing to give around two half-days a month to the project.

We are also looking for six houses – representing some of the

common types around Botley – for which we will carry out free

whole-house assessments. We will publish the results

(anonymised) to show how each can save energy and money now

and in the longer term. We will be holding public meetings to share

what we’re finding, so please stay tuned!

If you’d like to get involved, either as an adviser or by having a retrofit

assessment for your house, please get in touch with Laurie Michaelis –

laurie@livingwitness.org.uk or any other member of Sustainable Botley.

It’s an open group, set up to do what we can locally about the climate

emergency. You might even like to join us yourself!

Laurie Michaelis

Mosaic Workshops

Lots of local people joined in with the five mosaic workshops that took

place in the Seacourt Hall on Thursday

mornings in June and July.

These were free public sessions to

form part of the mosaic panels

commissioned as public art in West

Way Square. Participants were able to

learn cutting and layout techniques to

make mosaics to the designs set out in

the plans. The artist, Clare Goodall,

was on hand to show us what was

needed and to give us help and ideas

where and when necessary. It was

great fun meeting old friends, as well

as making new ones, and exciting to

all be part of such a creative

community project.

The finished mosaics are going

to be displayed on the outside

walls of the hall. It will be

wonderful to see them up

there. No doubt we will all

proudly point out the parts of

the designs that each of us

helped with, to our families and

friends and anyone else in the

vicinity.

Alison Provan

Clare Goodall

with a finished panel

Calling Musicians!

Kennington Memory Club operates on two days a week in Kennington

Methodist Church to provide day care for people with dementia, and

respite for their carers. There’s more about us on our web site:

kenningtonmemoryclub.org.uk One of the main pleasures for our

members is music. The brain seems better able to recall songs and

music that were enjoyed in earlier years than many other aspects of life.

There is a particular joy in listening to and joining in with live music.

This is why we would love it if there were any musicians, who could

volunteer to visit Kennington Memory Club occasionally or regularly, on

Mondays or Thursdays, sometime between 11am and 3pm, to add

those special moments to the day. You might be a pianist, guitar player,

instrumentalist or singer. All can contribute their own brand of musical

magic! This would give the members a valued opportunity just to listen

to the live music or join in with singing and foot-tapping.

If this sounds like you, please get in touch with our organiser, Helen, on

07852 883496 or email memoryclub1@outlook.com

Isobel Birse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oxfordshire Community Land Trust

Breaks New Ground!

Work started on 7th

June on the next stage

of Oxfordshire Commu-

nity Land Trust

(OCLT)’s exciting jour-

ney towards providing

permanently affordable

homes for rent in the

county. Crofts Court is

being built on Eynsham

Road in Dean Court,

Botley,! in the adminis-

trative areas of Cumnor Parish Council and the Vale of White Horse

District Council. The photo shows the delighted Directors at the opening

event.

Planning permission was granted in April 2020 for five one-bedroom

apartments and three two-bedroom apartments. The homes will be pro-

vided at affordable rents, and be let to eligible households on the Dis-

trict Council’s housing register, who can demonstrate a local connec-

tion. They will not be available to purchase, and OCLT’s intention is that

the properties remain available for affordable rent in perpetuity.

The flats themselves are designed to achieve high levels of energy effi-

ciency including PV solar for each apartment, promoting sustainability

and minimising energy bills for residents. The development will be man-

aged as a mutual housing co-operative, for which prospective tenants

will receive training. Trust Secretary, Fran Ryan, emphasized the im-

portance of the co-operative element, “I think it really makes a signifi-

cant difference to the quality of daily lives to know our neighbours, and

what better way to create a successful small community than by helping

run the building where you live. The training that tenants will receive

and the experience of running the property together, are also valuable

and marketable skills.”

Want to live in Crofts Court?

The new apartments are due to be ready for the first residents in June

2023. There will be three two-bed (3 person) flats, three one-bed (2

person) flats and two one-bed (1 person) flats.

The flats will be rented at about 70% of local rent and if you’re

interested and you can meet the following requirements, then keep an

eye on the Vale of White Horse website (search for Homechoice) to

see when the project is advertised. Meanwhile please get in touch and

let us know of your interest. To qualify to rent one of our flats, you must

follow these steps:

1. You must be registered on Vale of White Horse Housing Register.

2. A local connection is required. You will need to be able to show that:

o You have lived in Cumnor Parish for not less than five years

within the last eight years, and that you are currently a resident

of Cumnor Parish; or

o You have previously lived in Cumnor Parish for at least five

years and your parents or children still live there and have done

so for at least ten years; or

o You have worked full time for two years in Cumnor Parish or the

equivalent part-time, with evidence of a continuing commitment

to work in Cumnor Parish;

If not enough eligible Cumnor people come forward, the test will be

applied to the parishes of Appleton with Eaton, Besselsleigh, North

Hinksey, South Hinksey, Sunningwell, Wootton, and Wytham, and if

there are still insufficient people, anyone on the Vale’s housing

waiting list first in Cumnor Parish, then the above parishes, and

finally anyone within the Vale’s District will be considered.

3. The apartments will be managed as a housing co-operative. Training

meetings about this aspect of the project will start in early 2023, and

consideration will only be given to people who have attended these

meetings and shown they are willing to work with fellow tenants on

the project.

No one can be considered for a tenancy unless they meet all of the

above criteria.

Want to know more? Join us at OCLT’s 2022 AGM

Monday 19th September 2022

7pm to 8.00pm,

Orange Room at the Dean Court Community Centre,

Pinnocks Way, Oxford, OX2 9DG

All welcome. Please let us know you are coming: fran.ryan@oclt.org.uk

Want to help grow this housing sector?

Work with us in a variety of ways to help create a better community-

owned housing system to beat the housing crisis. It won’t be quick but

long term it will work. Join us for £1. https://www.oclt.org.uk/join/

Become a supporter member for £5 (or more) per month. https://www.

oclt.org.uk/support-us/ Invest in the upcoming Share Offer for Crofts

Court. (Watch out for this Oct 2022.)

Fran Ryan

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Botley to Eynsham Bike Path

Five years ago, a posse of supporters cycled from Eynsham to Botley

along the notorious Eynsham Road through Farmoor, full of hope that

their long awaited bike path was on the verge of being built at last. Who

would have thought that after five more long years of campaigning, they

would be doing the same ride again, with the end no nearer in sight. It

was all looking so hopeful – the County Council had come on board and

were helping with the planning application. Following the lessons of the

first lockdown, money was being made available to make cycling less

hazardous, the climate emergency had underlined the need to get

people out of their cars.

But the best has been the enemy of the good! The Council are anxious

to make sure the path ties

in neatly with proposed

changes at either end. So

instead of just building it,

and dealing with the ends

when the time is ripe, they

have held up the whole

process yet again. There

have been accidents, near

accidents, and the death of

a local father, in the past

few years, and problems

won’t go away until the

path is built. The picture

shows the 50-odd cyclists

outside the Missing Bean at the end of their ride on 30th July. AgM

Penelope (Peppy) Smeaton

“A wonderful blend of grit and grace…” This

is how one of Peppy’s friends described

Peppy’s character.

Many people will remember Peppy Smeaton.

Her name brings a warm smile of recognition

with appreciative comments about the advice

and support she gave as a Health Visitor.

She was well qualified for this role: her first

job was as a Norland Nanny, and when she

trained as a nurse at the Radcliffe Infirmary,

she was named Best Surgical Nurse in her

year group. She did extra midwifery training, too, which was to prove

invaluable when she went to Nepal as a missionary nurse.

In 1965 she was posted to the Shining Hospital in Pokhara, so named

because it consisted of aluminium huts. It was comparatively advanced

with an operating theatre, but the mud hut where Peppy lived was very

primitive. “She made it beautiful with curtains and covers for the tea-

chest furniture, and welcomed everybody,” remembers one of her

colleagues. She also worked in the primitive rural clinic of Baglung –

two days’ trek from Pokhara. At that time there were no roads or motor

vehicles in this part of Nepal. Peppy was tone deaf, and her language

skills were imperfect, but she was known for her warmth, kindness and

decisiveness.

She returned to the UK in the 1970s, trained to become a Health Visitor

and went to live in Hurst Lane. As she had in Nepal, Peppy appreciated

her home and delighted in sharing it with others. Hundreds of people,

both young and old, including many international students, found a

warm welcome and new friendships there, over beautifully prepared

meals. Friendships were very important to her, she had become an

orphan at the age of 12, and was brought up by kind guardians, but it

was her relationship with Jesus that was most precious of all. From this

flowed her love for others, and a longing that they should know Him too.

Life changed overnight for Peppy in June 2019, when she suffered a

stroke. She died earlier this year, and was buried in St Michael’s

churchyard, Cumnor, in July 2022, followed by a thanksgiving service at

St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford. We will miss her enormously, but we thank

God for the joy of having known her.

Jennie Gatenby (from tributes at the thanksgiving service)

Meet Chris Church

Chris Church has only been living

in Botley for ten years, but he has

earned the title of Green Man of

Botley. He was the first chair of

the Parish Council’s Environment

and Wellbeing Committee, he

helped to start up Sustainable

Botley, co-ran the energy event in

March, helped plan the bring and

take event for July, and is

involved in the Hinksey Hill nature

trail. Phew!

I asked Chris where his interest in

the environment came from.

Chris studied environmental

biology at the (then) Oxford

Polytechnic in the mid-1970s. At the time, Oxford Poly was known for

its music scene, and Chris organised several gigs during his time there.

That continued after his studies, when he briefly ran a music business,

promoting and managing bands…

… and then he got involved with Oxford Friends of the Earth. The

threat of the M40 running through Otmoor inspired him to be one of the

key people who bought a field on Otmoor and re-sold three thousand

small bits of it to people all over the country to make compulsory

purchase of the land really difficult. That was one reason why the M40

now curves around Otmoor.

In 1984, Chris moved to London to work for Friends of the Earth,

supporting local groups across the country and helping them tackle their

own issues. When Chris started at FoE there were only twelve

members of staff. When he left six years later, there were 100. “It was

the first period of real environmental activism,” says Chris, “when

Jonathan Porritt was at the helm and people were really getting

involved.”

In 1990, Chris set up his own business, Community Environment

Associates, working with community groups on issues of poverty,

environment and housing. He authored an influential report about local

action on environment and equity, coordinated people in making

pledges to act environmentally, supported local environmental groups in

eastern Europe, and chaired the London (Agenda) 21 Network. Chris

was living in Hackney at the time, but he felt that London would not be a

good place in which to grow old. He decided to come back to his home

town. He chose Elms Rise because house prices were more

manageable there than elsewhere in Oxford, even though his friends

claimed that “nothing happens in west Oxford”.

Hahaha! Shortly after Chris arrived here, the first development proposal

for West Way came forward. Convinced its enormous scale would have

been a disaster for the community, Chris campaigned to rein it in. Many

red balloons and planning meetings later, we have a more appropriate

West Way development.

Chris works from home, and in 2019 several of his bigger projects were

coming to an end. Then Covid hit, and he thought he might be retiring.

However, this is not to be: his next project looks likely to be an oral

history of Britain’s environmental movement, for the British Library.

Chris says that, in just the decade that he has lived in Botley, the area

has changed. It seems to be becoming younger and more diverse, and

more of a neighbourhood. The protests around the West Way

development certainly helped it to become more cohesive, thanks in

part to our very own Green Man. Riki Therivel

Continued Resistance to Flood Scheme

Feelings at either end of the Botley Road are still running high over the

proposed Flood Alleviation Scheme. Residents and landowners around

the affected fields have set up the Hinksey–Osney Environment Group

to oppose it. Here is their analysis of the response to the consultation:

Two hundred and thirty-two comments on the Oxford Flood Alleviation

Scheme application have been received by the planning authority. Two

hundred and twelve (91%) rejected the proposals in their current form,

especially its flood channel component.

• Two thirds of respondents objected to the proposed damage to

Hinksey Meadow MG4a grassland and the loss of biodiversity.

• More than half objected to the loss of access and amenity, wanted

alternatives to be properly evaluated and viewed the current

scheme as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

• Over one third objected to the traffic congestion the scheme would

cause, the felling of mature trees, the scheme’s carbon footprint

and its impact on climate change.

• Just under one third objected on the grounds of the scheme’s inad-

equate flood protection and hydrology.

• Around one quarter objected to contravention of the National Plan-

ning Policy Framework or local planning guidelines, the unaccepta-

ble pollution of the works, the lack of a budget for long term mainte-

nance and the damage to Willow Walk.

Other common reasons for objection were inadequate public consulta-

tion (20%), the removal of spoil and gravel (17%), development on

Green Belt (16%) and the disproportionate costs borne by many to ben-

efit a few (14%). 11% of respondents regarded the decision as requiring

consideration by a higher authority or public enquiry; 8% of comments

came from residents at significant flood risk, while 5% came from com-

munity groups or other organizations.

In consideration of the multiple flaws in the channel component of the

scheme, it is time to ask why Oxford City Council continues to support

such an unpopular project? An annotated copy of all the responses to

the OFAS planning application is available on the Hinksey and Osney

Environmental Group website www.hinkseyandosney.org and the origi-

nal is available on the OCC planning website. For more information

email HOEG at info@hinkseyandosney.org

Chris Sugden Convenor, Hinksey and Osney Environment Group

Support for Solar Farm

The May 2022 addition of The Sprout included a useful contribution by

John Magrath that raised concerns about a proposed local Solar Farm.

The site would be the south side of the hill on which the Jubilee beacon

stands, around half a kilometre due south of Matthew Arnold School. As

a local resident (Laburnum Road) I can confirm that members of the

local community would like an opportunity to be consulted on the plans.

However, we could start by looking at some of the more positive as-

pects.

To provide a bit of balance to views expressed so far, it is possible to

find a lot of good things to say about this opportunity. It has been scien-

tifically established beyond doubt that climate change is happening and,

if unchecked, will ultimately threaten much of human civilisation and

likely lead to conflicts as ecosystems collapse and populations compete

for dwindling resources. At the present time, the public lacks opportuni-

ties to act and help prevent the worst of climate change. However, by

supporting a solar farm in principle, instead of simply saying No, local

people will have made a real difference through reducing local drivers of

climate change. Powering around 7000 homes with renewable energy,

the solar farm would be something to be proud of, and to tell the grand-

children about: Botley and Cumnor stepped up to the plate at a time of

need.

For the last eighteen months or so, the site has been grassed over but

before that it was ploughed and used for crops. Such usage helps to

feed people, which is important, but it doesn’t help the local ecology, is

a source of Co2 emissions through soil exposure, and can produce

agricultural runoff into local water courses. Have you ever seen the

algae blooms at Farmoor Reservoir, which kill the fish?

A local consultation might bring a nicely balanced approach to the use

of the site as a solar farm. The rows of solar panels would be spaced to

allow for maintenance and cleaning, and these are typically green

spaces. Much of the area could be seeded with meadow flowers to im-

prove the local ecology for pollinators, insects, and small mammals,

while improving the appearance of the site.

Decommissioning would be easy. There would be no slag mountain,

nuclear waste, or ground pollution and the whole site could most likely

be returned to agriculture, or nature, within weeks.

Finally, as mentioned in the May Sprout, the company, Solar2, propos-

es a community benefit fund (see https://cumnorsolarfarm.co.uk/the-

proposal). A consultation would provide clarity about the scale and

scope of such a fund, which could be of benefit to the local area. All in

all, the solar farm looks to be a significant opportunity and worthy of an

open-minded approach by local people.

Jonathan Mason (Dr)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Randoms

Public Notice from the County Council

“In the interests of public safety it will be necessary for Oxfordshire

County Council to close a short section of Bridleway 14 to facilitate

demolition and reconstruction of Willow Walk 2 footbridge. A Temporary

Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) is being made to implement the tempo-

rary closure and will operate from 29 September up to and including 29

November 2022. This is a 24-hour bridleway closure.”

Although the Order refers to a ‘short section’ to repair ‘Bridge 2’ (pre-

sumably the one half-way along) the map suggests the whole length will

be closed. So if Willow Walk is the way you get to school or work, you’ll

need to find an alternative for the whole of October and November.

Open Rehearsal

Kennington & District United Church Choirs invite you to an Open Re-

hearsal on Friday 9th September at 7:30 p.m. in the Methodist Church,

Upper Road, Kennington, Oxford OX1 5LR. The rehearsal will be led by

our Director, Claire Sutton-Williams. We shall rehearse the Fauré Req-

uiem, so bring along a copy if you have one, though copies will be

available (Novello edition). If you haven’t sung for a long time or if you

sing with another choir and would like to join us as well, then this is for

you! We are keen to have new members, especially basses and tenors,

but all are welcome. Come and meet our current members and find out

about the music we sing. We hope to do a concert ‘Come and Sing’ of

the Fauré Requiem on Sunday 23rd October and a Christmas Special in

December when the choir will celebrate 50 years since it was founded.

We look forward to seeing you!

Botley WI

We held our annual charity afternoon tea on Tuesday 2nd August, in aid

of the Children’s Air Ambulance, with all seats taken. Our next meeting

will be on Tuesday 6th September at 7:30 pm, when speaker John

Paine will give us a quiz about Oxford. We always meet on the first

Tuesday in the month and we have lots of interest groups as well which

take place in between our scheduled meetings: Walking, Reading,

Music, “Green-ish fingers” and craft meetings. Visitors are always wel-

come! At the moment we have some vacant spaces in our car park. If

your business needs additional car parking, contact us on 07598

251161 or via botleywi@oxfordshirewi.org.uk for details.

Apple Day 2022

Apple Day is coming up. This has been provisionally fixed for Sunday

2nd October. The long bout of warm weather has meant that pears and

apples are ripening early, so we have chosen an earlier date. It will be

held at South View, behind McDonalds, as previously, and will run from

around 3pm. Bring apples, knives, containers for juice and cakes made

from apple recipes (optional!). We’ll supply the apple identification, the

apple press and plentiful cups of tea.

Good News from Tap

On Saturday 20 August, Tap So-

cial Movement, our very local

drinks producers (tapsocial

movement.com) hand in hand with

Missing Bean (themissing

bean.co.uk) officially opened Proof

Social Bakehouse, a collabora-

tion social enterprise wholesale

bakery and cafe. The two organi-

zations have partnered to build a

bespoke, open-plan bakery on

Tap’s former brewery site, at

Sandford Industrial Estate in Ken-

nington (OX1 5RP). As with all of

Tap's work, Proof offers paid train-

ing and employment to people

who have been in prison. Find out